the dope report

In a nod to the pitfalls of religious repression, Utah has become the nation’s leader in the abuse of pharmaceutical drugs. There were 317 deaths related to non-illicit drug use in the state during 2008, that is far more than the number of people who died from using illegal drugs and for the first time exceeds the amount of fatalities from car accidents. It may not be definitive that this abuse stems from the serious discouragement of mind altering substances on all levels by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints but even the Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff has directly correlated Mormon culture with the staggering statistics.

A new campaign in Utah is trying to deter the abuse of pain killers and other popular prescriptions that are being acquired primarily from the addicts’ friends and relatives. But with a slogan as plain and matter of fact as “Use Only As Directed,” the real problem is still not being addressed. For those who subscribe to the ideals of the Mormon church, the doctor and your sick relative naturally become the drug dealer. When no one is enabled to talk about their addictive personalities and their desire to get high, an entire geographic region falls plague to the silent and shameful numbness of the pharmie.

[ The Salt Lake City Tribune ]